It wasn't long after Seth MacFarlane's surprise 2012 hit Ted left theatres that people were already talking about a sequel. The movie was a smash with audiences and critics alike (raking in nearly $400 million worldwide) and with MacFarlane's star still on the rise, it only made sense to everyone involved to produce a follow-up - especially Universal, which declared its interest in a sequel about four months ago.

Mark Wahlberg had announced his planned involvement in Ted 2 (as it is known for now) about a month back, saying that he would likely shoot the Ted sequel after wrapping on Transformers 4.

In a interview with Anderson Cooper this week, Wahlberg confirmed not only that he and his irreverent stuffed pal will be back for another round, but also that MacFarlane is currently penning the script and a deal is in place.

"There is a Ted 2," Wahlberg told the Anderson Live audience in responding to a Twitter question. "We've already locked a deal. They're off writing now and I've never done a sequel before, but I have just so much confidence in Seth. He's such a talented and funny guy."

MacFarlane certainly has his detractors, but there's no question that his legion of fans has continued to grow since the world was introduced to Ted. Not only that, but it seems that he's becoming a trusted comedy commodity among the studios and the industry in general. He's already gotten the green light to write, direct, produce and star in an original live-action comedy-western titled A Million Ways to Die in the West  and he landed the prestigious hosting gig for this year's Academy Awards.

Wahlberg also revealed some news on that front, telling Cooper:

"Because Seth is hosting the Oscars, Ted and I will be appearing at the Oscars."

We're not sure if Wahlberg and Ted will be presenting an award or simply performing a humorous bit, but in any case, with their appearance at the Oscars and a second film on the way, it looks like we are going to see a lot more of this comedy duo in the near future.

There is no current release date for Ted 2, but the project expects to start shooting in late 2013 after the completion of Transformers 4 and A Million Ways to Die in the West.